This invention relates to cable broadband or wireless apparatus and, in particular, to the notification of a battery alarm in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
When broadband access apparatus, such as cable or fixed wireless, is used to provide primary line telephone service, it is necessary to provide uninterruptible power supply service for endpoints so as to provide emergency service i.e., 911 calls. This is necessary since the network interface unit (NIU) or wireless adapter does not obtain its power from a telephone central office but rather must rely on power provided within the residence or business. Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) that provide power from a battery when the main AC supply fails are well known in the art. However, a problem that exists with UPS""s is the problem of detecting and replacing batteries that fail in these UPS""s. Within the prior art, it is well known to use visual indicators and audio alarms to notify users that a battery has failed in a UPS. In addition, expensive and costly records are maintained to manage replacement schedules. Such prior art techniques work well within an environment where trained service personnel are on-site or make frequent visits to the sites.
However, in the case of NIU""s, these units reside in residences and in small businesses where service personnel do not make routine visits. Visual indicators and audible alarms can also be used in the wireless units and NIU""s but the effectiveness of these methods is greatly diminished. The user will often choose to ignore a visual indicator. With respect to audio alarms, such alarms must be able to be disabled since it may be a number of hours or even days before a service person can reach the residence to replace the battery. The result is that the users disable the audio alarm and then, not bother to call the service personnel to replace the battery in the UPS. This has left the providers providing service via the NIU""s and wireless units in a quandary because of the problems and liabilities associated with maintaining and replacing the batteries in the UPSs because of the requirements placed on these service providers to provide primary line telephone emergency service.
The foregoing problem is solved and a technical advance is achieved by an apparatus and method that transmits a pre-recorded announcement to the user of an network interface unit (NIU) each time the user places a telephone call if an alarm is set because a battery in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is in a low power state. The pre-recorded announcement states that the battery needs to be replaced. Advantageously, the user is given a simple procedure for contacting service personnel at a service center to have the battery replaced in the UPS. In addition, this announcement is overridden if the user starts to dial the emergency telephone number (911). This allows the user to gain immediate access to the emergency telephone number without having to listen to the message stating that the battery in the UPS needs to be replaced. Advantageously, an indicator is also set on NIU upon the battery being in the low power state. If a call is completed to the service center, the alarm is reset for a predetermined amount of time to give the service personnel time to service the battery.